First Niagara Cuts Local Branches, Jobs

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First Niagara Financial Group, the Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank which entered the Philadelphia region in 2010 when it acquired Harleysville National Corp., said it will close three branches in eastern Pennsylvania and layoff 28 local employees as part of a companywide plan to conform its retail strategy to meet the growing interest in mobile and online banking.

The local branches closing are in Wyomissing, Bethlehem and Allentown.

First Niagara (NASDAQ:FNFG) said late Tuesday that it would cut 170 branch positions and 10 of its 420 branches bankwide. In the post-recession world, in-branch traffic at all banks has declined with the advent of mobile banking and companies have also looked to trim overhead. Read more about the story on PBJ.com